American Figure Presentation

Speech below:

Good evening to everyone. I am Maria Sanico. For the American figure presentation, I decided to select Theodore Roosevelt. I decided to choose Roosevelt because I don't know much about him aside from him being a former president of the United States. Today, I would like to share some interesting facts I learned about him.

To start, I would like to share an interesting trivia. I am sure in your homes, you have a teddy bear sitting in your room or in your children's room. Have you ever wondered why it is called “Teddy”? This cuddly toy was named after Theodore Roosevelt. In one of his hunting trips, his attendants called Roosevelt to the site and suggested he shoot the bear that they already tied in a tree. He refused to shoot the bear himself but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery because it was badly wounded. This scene was depicted in one of the political cartoons which led one toy shop owner to create a cuddly stuffed toy which gave birth to “Teddy Bear.”
Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858 at New York, New York and passed away on January 6, 1919. He was the second of the four children of Theodore Roosevelt Sr. and Mittie Bulloch. He was born in wealthy, powerful and influential family because of their hardware and plate-glass importing business. The young Roosevelt was asthmatic and sickly. Interestingly, I was born asthmatic too so I understand the hardships that he faced during his childhood years.
Roosevelt was home schooled by private tutors and his parents partly because of his severe asthmatic condition. He was very good in history because of all his family travels. He has a photographic memory and developed a life-long habit of reading books and memorizing every detail. He was also a very eloquent conversationalist. So, it was not a surprise to learn that he graduated as a magna cum laude at the Harvard College and eventually entered Columbia Law School. But he decided to drop out when he was elected a member of the New York State Assembly which started his public service career.

It might seem that Roosevelt had a perfect life but he also had a share of trials in his life. His father who had a tremendous influence died during his early 20's. Then at age 25, his first wife Anna Hathaway Lee died of complications from childbirth two days after their first child was born. Roosevelt's mother also died of typhoid fever in the same house on the same day. Roosevelt was deeply devastate and wrote in his diary, “The light has gone out of my life” on this fateful Valentine's day. Later in his life, his youngest and favorite son, Quentin in his second marriage was killed in aerial combat over France. Despite these challenges, he remained strong and continued to pursue his public service and proved to be very successful. He served in many roles including a cowboy, historian, police commissioner, naval secretary, rough rider, Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States.

At age 42, Theodore Roosevelt became the President of the United States after the assassination of McKinley. This made him the youngest and at the time richest to ever hold the office. He served as the president for 8 years. He is famous for his personality, his energy, his vast range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" persona. He was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize, winning its Peace Prize in 1906, for negotiating the peace in the Russo-Japanese War.

The most interesting and saddest part that I learned during my research was how he presided over the brutal war of suppression in the Philippines. The United States obtained the Philippines during the Spanish-American War in 1898. Shortly after the war’s conclusion, when it became apparent that the United States had no intention of granting independence to the islands, guerrilla warfare broke out. Sadly, American military resorted to burning whole villages, and routinely shooting surrendering Filipino soldiers. Much worse were the concentration camps that civilians were forced into, after being suspected of being guerrilla supporters. Hundreds of thousands of Filipino civilians died in these camps. Only after American conduct in the Philippines was given embarrassing publicity in the US did Roosevelt take any action at all, ordering the court-martial of two American generals. Roosevelt’s approach in the Philippines was an indication that the content of his foreign policy is not much to be desired.

I never thought that I would get to know more of my homeland country's history by researching about my selected American figure. I might not agree on some of his decisions and actions, but he can still be admired with his courage, and determination that led him to be successful in bringing good to most of his endeavors. I hope you learned something new and thanks for listening.